During the past year, we experienced an overnight adoption of virtual healthcare that otherwise might have taken years to achieve.

As a consequence of the pandemic, medical practices across the U.S. saw a massive decline in in-person office visits — falling to 60% fewer in-person visits in April 2020 compared with previous years. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) subsequently responded with emergency regulations that supported telemedicine by providing reimbursement for remote visits, even if the care was given across state boundaries.

Not surprisingly, the rate of telemedicine visits skyrocketed in April 2020, representing 14% of the usual number of in-person office visits (and an even higher proportion of all visits that month). The initial high rate of virtual care visits began falling in May, but remains at close to half the peak rate (as of October 2020, 6.3% of all ambulatory visits were via virtual care).

In the short term, concerns and anxiety about COVID-19 will likely fuel a continued preference for virtual healthcare. Although it's not certain yet what the eventual role for virtual care visits will be, recent analysis shows that virtual healthcare is continuing at a high rate in some specialties, including behavioral health and primary care.

Through personal experience, many more people now appreciate the vital role virtual care has in creating an efficient and effective healthcare system. It appears that the increased importance of virtual healthcare will be a lasting change for patients and providers alike. Looking ahead, providers will need to continuously adapt to new patient expectations for accessing their doctors via remote consultation.

HealthTap is proud to be a leader in virtual healthcare, enabling people across the U.S. to get care, receive guidance and counsel, and manage care remotely. We continue to pay close attention to patient experiences and the impact we can have on patients and doctors. We eagerly anticipate continued advancements in virtual healthcare.